Recreation Counties Attract New Residents and Higher Incomes

Recreation counties, especially in non-metro places, draw new residents and have higher incomes and faster earnings growth than places without recreation.

People are more likely to move to Recreation counties than to Non-Recreation counties, particularly in Rural places.

Households moving into Recreation counties have, on average, higher income than households moving into Non-Recreation counties.

Recreation counties have, on average, lower earnings per job than Non-Recreation counties, but earnings per job in Rural Recreation counties are growing much faster than in Non-Recreation counties.

Recreation appears to drive varied economic benefits, including short-term support for tourism-related businesses and longer-term support by recruiting new residents who may be business owners, entrepreneurs, or workers.